The CASEL 5

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Why it works

Social and emotional learning, organized by CASEL's five competencies, is associated with improvements in behavior, wellbeing, and academic achievement when taught well and reinforced schoolwide. The five competencies give teachers a shared language and a map for naming, teaching, and practicing skills that are often left to chance.

The research: CASEL's five competencies; research on SEL outcomes (Durlak and colleagues).

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

The core activity: name and teach one competency

Teachers leave with one competency named for their classroom and a plan to teach and reinforce it.

Pick one of the five competencies your students most need.
Name what it looks like in your classroom specifically.
Plan how you will model and teach it, not just post it.
Plan where it is practiced and reinforced in your routines.

Name it, model it, practice itSEL is taught like any skill: named, modeled, practiced, and reinforced. Simply posting the competencies does not build them.

Facilitator notes

Use the shared language of the five competencies.
Model the skills yourself, and reinforce them in routines.
Connect students who need more to counselors or support staff.

SEL is not a substitute for mental health supportTeaching SEL skills helps all students, but a student in distress needs a counselor or support staff. Know your referral path.

Adapt it

Elementary: named skills, picture supports, and lots of practice.
Secondary: competencies woven into advisory and content.
All settings: model and reinforce in routines.

Participant handout

One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

K12 Academics · Professional Learning

The CASEL 5: name it, teach it, reinforce it

Five teachable competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making.

The competency my students most need:
What it looks like in my classroom:
How I model and teach it:
Where it is practiced and reinforced:
My referral path for students who need more:

Make it stick

Name, model, practice:

Use the shared language and model the skills.
Reinforce them in routines.
Bring an SEL skill that took hold to the next PLC.

Common questions

Isn't SEL just taking time away from academics?

The research points the other way: well-implemented SEL is associated with better academic outcomes, not worse, partly because regulated, connected students learn more.

What are the five competencies?

Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.

Do I need a separate SEL program?

A program can help, but the competencies can also be named, modeled, and practiced within your existing routines and content. Consistency matters more than a product.